CORNWALL – The number of unemployed in Eastern Ontario increased for a fourth straight month while things were getting better nationally.
Statistics Canada says the July unemployment rate for the region from Brockville to Ottawa and east to the Quebec border jumped to 9.6 per cent from 9.4 per cent in July.
It’s also higher than the 5 per cent registered in July 2019.
Cornwall’s jobless rate was 12 per cent last month, down from 13.9 per cent in June. Due to the small sample size in Cornwall this figure can fluctuate wildly.
But the regional unemployment rate is below the national average of 10.9 per cent in July. Canada’s rate was down from 12.3 per cent in June as the economy added 419,000 jobs.